TV Licence

Isn't it great when the reality of the world undermines a silly way of paying for public broadcasting.

could buy a TV monitor with no TV tuner capabilty (although not sure if you can get VCRs with no tuner?) but I reckon it might be simpler and more cost effective to just by a normal TV/VCR/etc. and a license as legally obliged.

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With annual costs of €155 and rising it certainly wouldn't be more cost effective. As for simpler, the computer industry has already realised that after the office and the study the next place for the PC is the living room. You can already buy Media PC's that are perfect for watching DVD's, listening to Music, etc. It's just going to get simpler.

When you add the €155 per year for the TV license, to the €90 or more per year that you're paying for carrying ATM Cards, Laser, Credit Cards, and the VAT you're paying on top of the WEEE charge for anything that has any sort of electrical contents. It starts to add up.

Regularly on AAM you'll find people advised to shop around to save a few quid on once off purchases. Shop around for Foreign Exchange save yourself €30. Switch to free banking, save yourself a few quid per year.
Shop around for a cheaper Pint save yourself €1.
Those who don't shop around are blamed for the high prices in the country.

Well here's my tip. Shop around for alternative entertainment. Save yourself €155 per year, get rid of your TV. With that money you can get 10 or 15 DVD's from the UK or a couple of seasons of your favourite TV Show on DVD.

It's hardly worth renting anymore. Check what sort of DVD collections your friends have a little swapping goes a long way.

Finally. Listen to the Radio. A few years ago you'd have needed a licence for that too.

-Rd

What about streaming live content? My laptop has no TV tuner, but I am able to watch PPV US sports through Media Player/Real Player.

CCOVICH said:

What about streaming live content? My laptop has no TV tuner, but I am able to watch PPV US sports through Media Player/Real Player.

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Getting interesting now. I think that the act concerned is "[broken link removed]". This speaks about an "apparatus for wireless telegraphy".

This is defined as -

"'apparatus for wireless telegraphy' means apparatus capable of emitting and receiving, or emitting only or receiving only, over paths which are not provided by any material substance constructed or arranged for that purpose, electric, magnetic or electro-magnetic energy, of a frequency not exceeding 3 million megahertz, whether or not such energy serves the conveying (whether they are actually received or not) of communications, sounds, signs, visual images or signals, or the actuation or control of machinery or apparatus, and includes any part of such apparatus, or any article capable of being used as part of such apparatus, and also includes any other apparatus which is associated with, or electrically coupled to, apparatus capable of so emitting such energy";

So, by extension, would getting streaming live content on your laptop via a wireless internet connection (or using your mobile as a modem) mean that you need a licence?

But if you did the same thing over broadband on your phone line, you wouldn't need the licence?

Just in case anyone is wondering, I do have a TV licence (for my TV!).

I use broadband over a phone line for my internet connection.

A few years ago, I had to get a TV license - for my aerial! Yes, the little detector man spotted the aerial on the roof and of course the Post office was on to me straight away! I didn't actually have a TV at the time, so I rang the appropriate official at the GPO in Limerick, hoping that a truthful explanation would suffice. No way! No matter what I said, including an offer to let them search the house anytime, the reply I repeatedly got was "Under the Wireless telegrapy Act of 1926, an APPARATUS capaple of receiving a TV signal must be licensed. An aerial is such an apparatus. You have one and you must get a license." I was furious but the little man knew that he had me caught and treated me quite dismissively throughout the conversation. As far as I know, he's still there, drawing a state salary with a guaranteed pension to come - all at the taxpayer's expense. (I know the pension issue is irrelevant but my Defined Benefit pension was recently cut by 20% so I'm feeling a bit sore! - private company, no state guarantee) I was so angry I was going to let it go to court and when found guilty turn around and ask the judge whether I needed a colour or black-and-white license for the aerial. That, at least, might have given me a smidgeon of satisfaction.
However, I swallowed my pride and bought a B/W license.....

Did you mention to them that a Coat Hanger is capable of receiving a TV Signal? By their argument every single building in the country should have a TV License. So let's stop wasting people's money selling the things, policing them, advertising them, Taking people to court. Just fund public broadcasting from tax receipts and/or advertising and be done with all this nonsense.

I lived for 2 years in a House with no TV but with a huge Satellite Dish bolted to the front of it. It wasn't my dish, and I wouldn't have had any right to remove it. If anyone had tried to make me pay a TV licence I would have ended up in Court. Fortunately no-one came a knocking.

-Rd

We have iron in our blood. Iron ia great at picking up broadcasted signals....therefore if you are alive you need a TV licence with the way the law is written...

This is similar to the Motor Tax issue. How much could be saved on Administering systems, Policing Compliance, and Chasing people through the courts if we just did away with these stupid ways of raising revenue.

For public broadcasting as I mentioned above pay for it out of the €2 Billion extra the government has this year that it didn't expect to have.

For Motor Tax we have tax on fuel that fairly taxes people based on use. If I use my car less, or get a more efficient car I can reduce my tax bill. There is no need for a separate system of a Tax Disk and all that entails.

All of the staff employed to administer these two systems could be gotten rid of.
The cost of running the Motor Tax Website, GONE, the Cost of printing and distributing Tax Disks, GONE. The time lost standing in line for Licenses and Tax disks, could be spend productively.

All of the Gardai who've ever had to file paperwork or deal with an untaxed car would be free to do something productive.

All the money saved could be spent on better public broadcasting, or better public transport, or heaven forbid given back to the tax payer.

But none of this will ever happen. The TV license will be €200+++ 10 years from now. Motor tax will have risen by a similar amount, and we'll have Carbon tax on top of that.

-Rd

All of the staff employed to administer these two systems could be gotten rid of.
The cost of running the Motor Tax Website, GONE, the Cost of printing and distributing Tax Disks, GONE. The time lost standing in line for Licenses and Tax disks, could be spend productively.

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On that, where can a body find out
a) how much revenue was generated from a particular tax in a given year?
b) how much was spent in administrating a given tax in a given year?


If the figures were broken down nicely, it may be easier to start a campaign to show how the money could be better used ala Rds suggestions.

If the figures were broken down nicely, it may be easier to start a campaign to show how the money could be better used ala Rds suggestions.

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Figures for reveues from various sources are out there. As for how much it costs to administer particular taxes I don't think such figures are published.

Here's the figures for Taxation of Motor Vehicles according to SIMI.

[font=arial,sans-serif][size=-1]http://www.unison.ie/features/budget2004/simi_prebudget_submission.pdf.[/size][/font]

There would be direct savings of course to the Tax Payer, there would be possible knock on effects for people who provide services to the government and of course there could be job losses to People working in these areas. But given that they are employees of the government I'm sure there would be something found to keep them busy, so the savings might not be a good as they could be.

-Rd